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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

In an exchange with reporters on November 30, Pope Francis spoke
optimistically about prospects for ecumenical progress with the Orthodox
churches and said that he is prepared to meet with Orthodox Patriarch
Kirill of Moscow whenever the Russian prelate is ready.

In a question-and-answer session aboard his plane on the return flight
after his visit to Turkey, where he had met with the Ecumenical
Patriarch of Constantinople, the Pope stressed the importance of
“spiritual ecumenism” and the common witness of Christian martyrs.

“There is the ecumenism of blood,” the Pope said. “When they kill
Christians, bloods mix. Our martyrs are crying out: ‘We are one!’”

That powerful witness should be the impetus to resolve theological
disputes, the Pope said. But while he offered his support for ecumenical
dialogue, he expressed some impatience with the process. “If we wait
for theologians to reach an agreement, that day will never come!” he
said.

Nevertheless, Pope Francis observed that some theological disputes could
be resolved. He said that the Orthodox churches already accept the
notion of primacy, although they are not prepared to embrace the
Catholic understanding of that concept. Following a suggestion made by
St. John Paul II, he said that a final resolution to the question of
Petrine primacy may require a return to the role of the papacy in the
first millennium of Christianity.

The Pope also observed that the Orthodox churches, like the Catholic
Church, faces internal tensions, with some more conservative groups
resisting the changes that might lead toward Christian unity. The
antidotes to those tensions, he said, are “patience, meekness, and
dialogue.”

Regarding the relationship between the Holy See and the Russian Orthodox
Church, the Pope said that he was ready to travel to Moscow. At the
moment, he said, Patriarch Kirill is preoccupied with the violence in
Ukraine. But he revealed that he had told the Russian primate, “we can
meet wherever you want; you call me and I’ll come.”

Questioned about Christian-Muslim tensions, Pope Francis said that
Islamic leaders must condemn terrorism and religious extremism.

Speaking more generally about the Middle East, the Pontiff said that the
world now seems to be experiencing a third world war, although the
fighting now is not concentrated in one time and place. He said that the
war in Syria has been fueled by the arms traffic, and charged that
there are always profiteers who exploit the opportunities created by
war.